Book Review: The Silent Hours by Cesca Major

Author: Cesca Major

Title: The Silent Hours

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

Published: June 4, 2015

Where I Got It: My shelf (Gift)

Summary: 

An epic, sweeping tale of love and loss inspired by heartrending true events in the Unoccupied Zone of wartime France.

The Silent Hours follows three people whose lives are bound together, before war tears them apart:

Adeline, a mute who takes refuge in a convent, haunted by memories of her past;

Sebastian, a young Jewish banker whose love for the beautiful Isabelle will change the course of his life dramatically;

Tristin, a nine-year-old boy, whose family moves from Paris to settle in a village that is seemingly untouched by war.

Beautifully wrought, utterly compelling and with a shocking true story at its core, The Silent Hours is an unforgettable portrayal of love and loss.

Review:

I honestly can't remember who gave this to me and for what holiday. *draws complete blank, eye twitches* I just remember I didn't buy it and it once belonged to someone. LOL. But this is right up my alley. WWII...love....sadness....yayy.

This story is inspired by a tragic moment in the war. We follow three people whose lives are bound together in ways we don't know. Adeline is a mute who takes refuge in a convent after the war. She is haunted and she can't speak a word. Sebastian is a young Jewish banker who is in love with Isabelle. Tristin is a child whose family moves out of Paris to settle in a little village that is seemingly untouched by war. 

This was sad. Extremely sad. I knew very little about this very real town. I had heard of it but never really knew the details. I waited until after the book was over to do some digging myself. 

This was a slow build-up. The stage is busy getting set to make you feel. I remember yelling at the book a few times in the last quarter of the book. I remember yelling, "NO NO!" Ugh! My heart. 

The main three POVs are Adeline, Tristin, and Sebastian. But we also get to see some of the letters Isabelle wrote to her brother and her brother's letters back. Near the end we got to see a glimpse of Paul (Isabelle's brother) and his POV. Very short but I'm glad we got to see a glimpse. 

Everyone and everything is tied together in some way. Some ties are not known until the very last page. SO heartbreaking. 

But yes. I really, really adored this book. I took my sweet time with it because it was slow to begin with, but you know eventually things will erupt and you'll miss when things were slow and okay(ish).  

If you love a good tragic story or WWII...I for sure recommend this book. I'll give it 5 stars. 

ONE WORD SUMMARY: Compelling